Two Birds, One Stone

Prologue: Neon Nights

Liam tried just about everything.

     Deep breaths. Shutting his eyes tight and opening them again. Thinking pleasant thoughts. Imagining that everyone in the building ahead would be buck-ass naked.

     But he couldn't, for the life of him, shake his nerves. Now, his time to ease his internal panic had run out; his grumpy uber driver had just parked, and to stay longer would lead to some very aggravated grumbling that would only heighten his anxiety.

     So, his mind still swimming with doubts, he mustered enough courage to at least step out of the car. He had hardly shut the door when it sped off, leaving him utterly alone on the sidewalk.

     Of course, he wasn't really alone. It was half-past ten and the night was alive with bodies that walked past him without a glance. Some continued further down along the sidewalk. Others approached the entrance of the exact building that Liam watched with dread, as if it would swallow him alive if he neared. This was the city, and it would be hours before it fell asleep.

     There was a short line of men and women waiting to pass through the brick walls of the one-story lot, laughing along with their friends as they quickly grew nearer and nearer to the awaiting doors. As Liam gazed around nervously, looking like a child who'd lost his parent at Disneyland, he noticed that everybody around him was in pairs and trios. Everybody had come with someone, whether a date or a group of friends. Nobody was by themselves. Nobody but him.

    And the bouncer, if he counted.

    Liam stared anxiously at his feet, forcing them to move one step at a time until he was taking up the rear of the line, right behind a man in skin-tight jeans who was engaged in animated, high-pitched conversation with a girl who's hair was short-cut and a violent shade of purple. He watched them discreetly as they inched closer to the doors. They would fit right in. They knew who they were and they were comfortable with that. They could walk through those doors and strike up conversations with strangers, or drink if they wanted to, or dance like no one was watching.

     But Liam wasn't comfortable. He wanted the experience -- wanted it so bad, he'd made the rash, dumb-ass decision to bring himself here -- but there were a million things that could go wrong. The worst of which, if he was seen by somebody who recognized him . . .

     That couldn't happen, though. He was fifty minutes from home. And besides, nobody he knew would ever be caught dead inside a place like this.

    Then again, those people he knew probably thought the same about him.

    "ID."

    Liam jumped at the gruff, impatient voice. He was at the front of the line; there was a gap between him and the bouncer where the pair of friends had stood. The bouncer looked rather annoyed, and Liam fumbled to quickly pull out the fake ID his sister had given him, courtesy of her college friends. The bouncer hardly glanced at it before nodding toward the door, and Liam wondered to himself if he could have offered an ID with a picture of the purple-haired girl and still been let in.

     Realizing that his cue to enter had come, and that there was no way for him to put it off any longer, he stepped inside.

     Liam had been to his fair share of clubs and bars. None of them compared to Vagabonds.

     The music came from all sides, its base pulsing so harshly that it seemed to take over his body, replacing his heartbeat with something far less rhythmic. He only had to walk a few paces to feel himself bathed in neon. It was a dark room, but it was filled with enough colorful stars to create its own version of a bright night -- the lights, the decorations, the people. Vibrant shirts, sequins, and hair-dye ambushed Liam's eyes no matter where he looked.